Department for Transport

Driving: Licensing

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to encourage or require the introduction by vehicle manufacturers of technology linked to government databases automatically to detect attempts to drive by those without a driving licence, or who are medically unfit to drive, and to prevent the vehicle from being driven in such cases.

baroness sugg: The Government has no plans currently to require vehicle manufacturers to introduce technology linking the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s driver’s database to vehicles. There are a number of issues associated with these schemes that would need to be resolved before making any changes, including the high costs of installation and maintenance as well as the need for robust evidence to prove that the technology can lead to sustained, long-term behavioural change. The Government continues to monitor the development of interlock technology and use of interlock programmes in other countries very carefully.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many trees they estimate will be felled during the programme to clear vegetation alongside railway lines; and what plans are in place to plant new trees on Network Rail land.

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps for the protection of nesting birds, as set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act1981, arebeing taken duringNetwork Rail’s clearance of trackside vegetation.

baroness sugg: Network Rail is the fourth largest land owner in the United Kingdom, and in the past four years has made significant progress in the way it manages vegetation growing alongside train tracks. Following discussions with Mark Carne, Chief Executive of Network Rail, about their approach to vegetation management, and the Tree Council and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Government has commissioned a review into Network Rail’s vegetation management. While it is clear that Network Rail wants to get this right, and there is a ‘gold standard’ of vegetation management on some lines, it is concerning that tree management is carried out during the nesting season, when it can have the greatest effect on wildlife. The review will report to the Rail Minister in summer this year. In the meantime, Network Rail have been asked to suspend all felling during the current nesting reason, except where it is safety critical.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the estimated costs of compensating (1) passenger and freight operators, and (2) passengers, for the 227 weekend closures of the West Coast Main Line planned over aten year period during the construction of HS2 Phases 1 and 2A; and whether those costs are included in the estimated construction costs of HS2.

baroness sugg: HS2 Ltd and Network Rail are working collaboratively to minimise the impact of the necessary works on the West Coast Main Line associated with the construction of HS2. The normal industry compensations process will be applied and compensations budgets are included in the current cost estimate for HS2.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whetherthe planned removal of spoil from the construction of Old Oak Common Station by 350 truck movements a day to Willesden for onward transport by rail complies with assurances givenby HS2 that such truck movements would not exceedsix per hour.

baroness sugg: HS2 Ltd.’s assessment is that their plans for truck movements to construct Old Oak Common Station is compliant with all undertakings and assurances provided by the Secretary of State for Transport during the Phase1 Hybrid Bill process.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the report on HS2 which was prepared by Sir Jeremy Heywood in 2016.

baroness sugg: The report on HS2 prepared by the Cabinet Secretary is known as the Periodic Update and we have already made public the outcomes of this in the Phase 2b Financial Case, published in November 2016.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Lighting: EU Action

lord foster of bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from, andwhat discussions they have had with, the EU regarding proposed new EU regulations under the Ecodesign Working Plan 2016–17 which will remove the exemption for studio lighting, show effect lighting and theatre lighting in EU 1194/2012 and other related regulations.

lord henley: BEIS officials attended the EU consultation forum in December 2017 to discuss the latest lighting proposals (the last time this was discussed in Brussels) and have subsequently been in contact with the commission on issues around this lighting proposal. They have also met with the Association of Lighting Designers and the National Theatre and are aware of their concerns around the removal of this exemption. They are currently looking into various options and will continue to consult widely on future iterations of the draft proposals.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Portuguese Timor: Armed Conflict

lord foster of bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the confirmation by Paul Symon, the Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Sydney on 27 April, that Australia possesses intelligence records on Portuguese Timor for the period 1974–80, what recent representations they have made to the government of Australiato obtain further information about the deaths of the Balibo Five, including British citizens Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie; and what was the outcome of any such representations.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government has made no recent representations to the Australian Government seeking information related to the deaths of the Balibo Five. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is ongoing.

Department of Health and Social Care

Surrogate Motherhood: Lone Parents

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress is being made with the remedial order to allow single people to achieve legal parenthood of their children following surrogacy, following thereport of the Joint Committee on Human Rightson the Proposal for a Draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (Remedial) Order 2018, published on 2March (2nd Report of 2017–19, HL Paper 86).

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theyintend to lay a revised remedial order on parental orders for single people using surrogacy; and if so, when.

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatis their response to theJoint Committee on Human Rights' findings on theProposal for a Draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (Remedial) Order 2018, laid on 29 November 2017, which is designed to allow single people to apply for a parental order following surrogacy in the same way that couples may.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Joint Committee for Human Rights’ (JCHR) report of 2 March contained some important recommendations about the initial draft remedial order laid by the Government on 29 November 2017. The Government is currently giving careful consideration to the implications of these recommendations and what changes may be necessary to the remedial order.It is our current intention that a revised order be laid for JCHR scrutiny before the summer recess.

Surrogate Motherhood

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to commit funds to the Law Commission to allow it to commence its review of surrogacy laws.

lord o'shaughnessy: A budget has now been agreed to support the Law Commission’s project about surrogacy.

Contraceptives

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether GPs in England and Wales obtain any advantage by prescribing oral contraceptive pills one month at a time.

lord o'shaughnessy: It is the responsibility of general practitioners (GPs) to determine whether a repeat prescription for specific oral contraceptive pills is appropriate and whether to prescribe oral contraceptive pills (OCP) for one month at a time. GPs gain no advantage from prescribing for one month. GPs prescribe OCP for one month if the patient making the demand, usually through the telephone, does not have a recent record of their blood pressure with the practice.The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health developed the United Kingdom Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, which helps clinicians decide what contraceptives they can safely recommend based on the medical conditions of patients in their care.Primary care in Wales is a devolved matter.

Mental Health Services: Ethnic Groups

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of BME service user-led groups to the mental health system; and what proposals they have made to guarantee continued funding for such groups.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Department and NHS England are committed to working collaboratively with service users, ensuring mental health services are fit for purpose and meet the needs of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including black, Asian and minority ethnicities. Programmes such as Up My Street, three projects to improve young black men’s resilience in Birmingham, highlight the potential benefits to mental wellbeing through participation in community-focused activities, in turn helping to tackle high levels of diagnosed severe mental illness. Co-production is a core principle of NHS England, and a copy of A Co-production Model: Five values and seven steps to make this happen in reality is attached. In responding to the recommendations of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, a Mental Health Black Voices Network has been established to provide feedback on programmes including the design of a mental health community forensic model. Additional funding to support transformation of secure services totals £94 million over the period from 2017/18 to 2020/21. The Department commissioned an Independent Review of the Mental Health Act to address concerns surrounding the disproportionate number of people from black, Asian and minority ethnicities detained under the Act. An interim report was published on 1 May 2018, and a copy of The independent review of the Mental Health Act: Interim report is attached. Work to date has included focus groups with service users and carers to consider issues affecting black, Asian and minority ethnicities, and engagement will continue over the coming months to address known gaps in evidence around best practice models for these communities.



A Co-production Model
(PDF Document, 468.24 KB)




Independent Review of the Mental Health Act
(PDF Document, 474.85 KB)

Mental Health Services: Finance

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government which Clinical Commissioning Groups in England are compliant with the Mental Health Investment Standard for the current financial year.

lord o'shaughnessy: The NHS Planning Guidance for 2018/19 set out the expectation that all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) should achieve the Mental Health Investment Standard for the current financial year. CCGs’ auditors will be required to validate their 2018/19 year-end position in this respect.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the recovery rates of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis who have received treatment under the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

lord o'shaughnessy: This information is not available.

Prisons: Nurses

baroness masham of ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve retention rates amongst nurses across the prison estate.

lord o'shaughnessy: It is expected that all prisons have access to a full range of health professionals as per services within the community. Since 2013, NHS England has been responsible for commissioning all healthcare services for prisoners in England. Recognising that there are particular challenges around recruiting and retaining healthcare staff across the secure and detained estate, NHS England commissioned a review to look at the workforce, market management and recruitment and retention in adult prisons and immigration removal centres in England. The review findings were shared with the NHS England Health and Justice Clinical Reference Group in November 2017. The review made recommendations on how the prison healthcare market could be better managed, and what could be done to raise the profile of nursing roles, increase the number of qualified nurses and reduce the number of agency staff. An implementation plan is currently being developed to drive forward these recommendations, overseen by the NHS England Health and Justice Clinical Reference Group, working closely with the Royal College of Nursing Professional Lead for Justice and Forensic Nursing and Learning Disability Nursing. Work is currently underway to identify and collate best practice for inclusion within the plan, which is likely to advocate a comprehensive range of supportive activities that commissioners and providers can use to improve the recruitment, retention and wellbeing of nursing teams. These include strengthening leadership and governance arrangements; removing non-nursing duties from nurses’ roles; improved administrative support; access to technological solutions; enhancements to working environments and improved terms and conditions.

Abortion

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actionthey plan to take in response to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service report Medically Complex Women and Abortion Care, published in March.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetherthey are satisfied that that there are sufficient facilities in the NHS to provide abortions for women who have health conditions which cannot be treated in standalone community clinics.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to commission a national pathway to ensure access to abortion services for women with medical complexities.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of women with complex medical needs seeking an abortion for whom no appropriate specialist care was available.

lord o'shaughnessy: The British Pregnancy Advisory Service’s report, Medically Complex Women and Abortion Care, found that women in the United Kingdom with medical conditions including epilepsy, heart problems, and cancer can struggle to obtain abortion care. The Department recognises that some women with complex medical needs face challenges in accessing timely abortion care and is working with NHS England to ensure there are sufficient facilities in the National Health Service to provide abortions for women who have medical conditions and cannot be treated in standalone abortion clinics.Currently clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning NHS-funded termination of pregnancy services in England. Ministers have agreed that in 2018/19 NHS England will become the responsible commissioner for a small number of terminations, estimated at between 2,500 and 3,000, where the woman has significant comorbidities, which require critical care and/or medical support that would only be available in co-located NHS facilities. A national service specification will be developed to formally commission this service.The Department has not made an estimate of the number of women who are currently unable to access appropriate specialist care.

Abortion

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to bring forward legislation to remove the threat of the criminal prosecution of health care professionals providing abortion services and replace it by appropriate healthcare regulation.

lord o'shaughnessy: Parliament decided the circumstances under which abortion can be legally undertaken. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance. It is accepted Parliamentary practice that proposals for changes in the law on abortion come from back-bench members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes.

Mental Health Services: Afro-Caribbeans

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of theIndependent Review of the Mental Health Act: interim reportthat services for peoples of Afro-Caribbean heritage "do not always take proper account of people's cultural circumstances and needs"; and what action they intend to take to remedy this.

lord o'shaughnessy: Professor Sir Simon Wessely, chair of the independent review of the Mental Health Act, published an interim report on Tuesday 1 May 2018. The interim report outlines emerging findings and issues that require further examination. A copy of The independent review of the Mental Health Act: Interim report is attached. The independent review will make final recommendations to the Government in autumn 2018. The Government will consider the recommendations and then publish its response.



Independent review of the Mental Health Act 
(PDF Document, 474.85 KB)

Abortion

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many specialist centres are available in the NHS to provide specialist care for women with complex medical needs seeking an abortion.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish details of a national tariff to pay the cost of specialist care for women with complex needs seeking an abortion.

lord o'shaughnessy: Information on the number of centres in the National Health Service that provide specialist care for women with complex medical needs seeking an abortion is not collected centrally.The timing of publication of the tariff structure for specialist care for women with complex medical needs requiring abortion will be announced in due course.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Internet

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cloud services contracts that were previously delivered by British cloud services providers for theDepartment for International Developmentare now delivered by multinational cloud service providers; what is the value of those contracts; and what are the names of the previous providers.

lord bates: DFID does not hold this information centrally for all internal departments and overseas offices and could only be collated at disproportionate cost. We can however provide information on cloud services contracts which are managed by our IT department. Of the cloud services contracts managed by our IT Department, there are zero which were delivered by British cloud services providers which are now delivered by multinational cloud service providers.

Developing Countries: Education

lord german: To ask Her Majesty's Government with which countries they engage in bilateral education programmes.

lord bates: The Department for International Development works closely with partner governments, donors, multilateral bodies and non-governmental organisations to ensure children are in school and learning.We support education bilaterally in 20 countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Lebanon, Malawi, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Lesotho: Education

lord german: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Welsh Government's support for educational programmes with Lesotho.

lord bates: No assessment has been made of the Welsh Government’s international development programmes as this is not within the mandate of the Department for International Development.

Department for Education

Primary Education: Counselling

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reportEconomicevaluation of Place2Be's counselling service in primary schools by Pro Bono Economics and Place2Be published on 26 April; andwhat assessment they have made of increasing mental health counselling provision for primary school pupils and the potential long-term benefits for the economy of such an increase.

lord agnew of oulton: The department recognises the importance of school based counselling. The economic evaluation of Place2Be's counselling service in primary schools provides an assessment of the potential benefits of such provision. Schools are best placed to make decisions on the most appropriate support for their pupils, and 61% of schools and colleges already provide counselling services. The government has published advice on delivering high quality school based counselling to all pupils. The advice for schools was developed in consultation with counselling experts, including Place2Be, and is attached. The green paper, ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision’, sets out proposals to provide significant further help to schools. These include the introduction of Mental Health Support Teams, which will increase the support available to pupils with emerging mental health problems. Additional funding will be provided for new professionals trained in evidence-based interventions, with supervision from expert clinicians. The teams will provide better routes into specialist NHS services for the pupils who need them. The green paper is attached.



Counselling_in_schools
(PDF Document, 595.12 KB)




Transforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_he
(PDF Document, 1.14 MB)




green_paper_impact_assesssment
(PDF Document, 406.36 KB)

Ministry of Justice

Sexual Offences: Medical Treatments

lord farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost-effectiveness of a voluntary national programme to prescribe and manage medication,including anti-androgens and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, for sex offenders who require assistance in managing their sex drives.

lord farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the proportion of sex offenders who would benefit from medication to manage their sex drives; and what assessment they have made of the likely contribution to public safety of introducing a voluntary national programmeto prescribe and manage such medication.

lord keen of elie: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Services keeps Medication to Manage Sexual Arousal (MMSA) under review as part of its commitment to evidence-based approaches to reducing reoffending and protecting the public. This is a relatively new service whose effectiveness, both in outcome and cost, is still under review. We have not researched prevalence rates of the number of offenders who might benefit, but clinical opinion suggests it is approximately 5% of known sex offenders. There are currently no plans to expand services.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Forests

lord rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to call-in the proposals from the Forestry Commission for private chalet parks in public forests.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: It would be inappropriate of me to comment on a specific planning application in case the application comes before the Secretary of State for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for a decision. The Secretary of State is not currently considering any planning applications from the Forestry Commission for private chalet parks in public forests. If the Secretary of State were to receive such an application in the future, he would consider whether or not it should be called in in light of his published policy on call-ins. The Secretary of State is selective about calling in applications and, in general, will only do so if planning issues of more than local importance are involved.

Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017

baroness cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provisions of the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 have not yet been brought into force.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: My Department can confirm the following provisions from the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 have not been brought into force:Section 6: Assistance in connection with neighbourhood planningSection 7: Engagement by examiners with qualifying bodiesSection 13: Statements of community involvementSection 8(2): Content of development plan documentsSections 18 – 28 and 31: Temporary possession of land (except section 26(8)(b))Sections 39 and 40: Other provisions relating to compulsory purchase

Garden Communities: Kent

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their plans for development at Otterpool Park.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Across England we are already assisting 24 locally-led garden cities, towns and villages to be exemplars of quality, design, and best practice. In total, they have the potential to deliver up to 225,000 homes across England. This includes Otterpool Park Garden Town, which could provide up to 12,000 homes by 2060.Otterpool Park is a locally-led garden town. The local authority is responsible for developing local plans of the garden town. The Government’s assistance does not in any way pre-judge the planning process.

Homelessness: Young People

lord bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations in Centrepoint's report,More than a number: The scale of youth homelessness in the UK,published on 3 May.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: We welcome opportunities to work with Centrepoint and discuss their research on youth homelessness. We are committed to working collaboratively with the voluntary and local government sectors and across government to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. Officials from the department are arranging to meet Centrepoint to discuss the research.

Homelessness

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that local authorities arranging accommodation for homeless families far from their original neighbourhoods willseek assistance from local religious and voluntary groups in the receiving area.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Local authorities must secure accommodation within their own borough so far as is reasonably practicable. If they do place a household in another borough, they must follow the rules we have set out and also notify that local authority.The provision of support to households placed in temporary accommodation is essential to ensure that they are able to continue to enjoy a reasonable quality of life and access the range of services they need.In formulating their homelessness strategies, housing authorities should consider what arrangements need to be in place to ensure that households placed in temporary accommodation, within their district or outside, are able to access relevant support services.Organisations, such as charities and faith groups, and the thousands of people who volunteer with them, play an important role in giving real help to those who are homeless. Working in close partnership with established and statutory homelessness services, they are part of vital work to provide consistent, high quality support.

Housing: Finance

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of including housing support other thanHousing Revenue Account as a service-specific formulawhen setting new funding baselines for councils as part of the Fair Funding Review.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Our fair funding review of local authorities’ relative needs and resources will deliver a thorough, evidence based review of funding allocations to English local authorities through close collaboration with the sector. In response to the views expressed by the sector, we are committed to implementing an approach with enhanced levels of simplicity and transparency, but recognise that this should not be at the expense of accuracy and fairness.Our public consultation on the overall shape of the needs assessment recently closed, and sought views on service areas which may require a specific approach to allocations. We are currently considering the many representations made, including those who argued for a specific housing formula. Decisions on all this will form the basis for further consultation later this year.

Department for Work and Pensions

Refugees

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make available to Parliament the findings of themonitoring of the supported handover policy for refugees granted status from the Home Office to the Department for Work and Pensions.

baroness buscombe: We are currently gathering findings from the recent exercise to monitor the impact of the supported handover process for refugees between Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions. We intend to write to the Work and Pensions select committee with these findings once they are available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forests

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the building of private luxury chalets on Forestry Commission landagainst its purpose of protecting and expanding England’s public forests and woodland; and if so, what conclusions were reached.

lord gardiner of kimble: The provision of overnight accommodation on the public forest estate is a long standing activity facilitated by the provisions in the Countryside Act 1968. This includes both the Forest Holidays cabin business and the campsites provided by Camping in the Forest. The Forestry Commissioners regularly discuss these and other businesses operating on the public forest estate and are confident that they promote recreation and enjoyment of the forests as well as generating revenue which is ploughed back into forest management, and are fully compatible with the Commission’s objectives.

Forests

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what public consultation takes place with local communities on the siting by the Forestry Commission of new Forest Holiday chalet developments.

lord gardiner of kimble: There is extensive public engagement on all such proposals. The Forestry Commission works with Forest Holidays to identify potential sites and assess the impacts and benefits, and then the company will engage in a variety of ways with neighbours, local communities and interested parties. Information and updates continue to be made available as and when a project progresses toward a planning application. Formal consultation takes place as part of the planning process. Forest Holidays and the Forestry Commission have a successful track record of obtaining and delivering recreational developments that soon become an important part of the local community and its economy once they are operational. The sites are not closed to the public for general access and enhanced facilities for access provide positive outcomes without significant environmental impact.

Mortimer Forest

lord rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Forestry Commission has prepared environmental impact assessments for proposed private developments for building accommodation units in Mortimer Forest on the Herefordshire–Shropshire border.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Forestry Commission has not undertaken an Environmental Impact Assessment. Forest Holidays received an Environmental Impact Assessment screening opinion from the planning authority on 29th March 2018 and it will be a decision for Forest Holidays on how to respond to this opinion.

Forests

lord rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what bidding process has been used by the Forestry Commission in respect of granting private companies leases of up to 125 years for the building of accommodation units in public forests.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Forestry Commission undertook an exhaustive tender and selection process in 2006 to identify a private sector partner for its existing Forest Holidays operation. This led to the formation of Forestry Holidays as an independent Limited Liability Partnership with the Camping and Caravanning Club. The business was restructured in September 2012, to form two separate companies: Forest Holidays and Camping in the Forest. Forest Holidays is now a cabin only business. The 125 year leases were an essential element in securing the investment needed for the business to succeed.

Forests

lord rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether ministers have approved Forestry Commission plans to privatise parts of public forests.

lord gardiner of kimble: Neither the Government nor the Forestry Commission has any plans to privatise any part of the public forest estate. We remain committed to maintaining the public forest estate in trust for the nation.

Forests

lord rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the financial arrangements employed by the Forestry Commission to grant private access to developers to build accommodation units in public forests have been approved by the National Audit Office.

lord gardiner of kimble: There is no requirement for approval by the National Audit Office. The Forestry Commissioners have the power under the provisions in the Countryside Act 1968 to carry out recreational developments on the land placed at its disposal (the public forest estate), including the provision of accommodation for visitors. The 2006 Regulatory Reform (Forestry) Order enabled the Forestry Commissioners to go into partnership in order to undertake any of the activities it is authorised to carry out under the Countryside Act 1968.

Mortimer Forest

lord rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the Forestry Commission has taken, since the original planning application was made regarding proposed developments in Mortimer Forest on the Shropshire–Herefordshire border, to ensure that residents who have an interest have been kept informed of any changes to those plans in an open and transparent manner.

lord gardiner of kimble: There has not been a planning application by the Forestry Commission, or any other organisation for any developments in Mortimer Forest. Information regarding the proposed Forest Holidays development has been made widely available to local communities. Public Exhibitions were held on 27 and 28 February 2018 where people had the chance to view the proposals and discuss them with members of the Forestry Commission and Forest Holidays teams. Close neighbours were invited to an earlier exhibition. Following these events, exhibition materials and other updates and information have been made available on the Forestry Commission’s website. Any subsequent planning application will be made publically available by the planning authority and anyone who wishes to do so will be able to view and comment on the application.

Pet Travel Scheme

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pet passports have been issued to UK pet owners in the past five years; and how many of those are still valid.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Animal and Plant Health agency (APHA) issue blank pet passports to approved Official veterinarian (OV) practices in the United Kingdom who then issue these for cats, dogs and ferrets to move under the Pet Travel scheme. The table below records the numbers of blank pet passports issued to OV practices by APHA over the past five years. APHA does not record the number of pet passports issued by OV practices to individual animals.  YearTotal number of pet passports issued to OV practices2013681752014723252015119704201695449201791661  The increase in the number of passports issued in 2015 reflects a revision to the document introduced in December 2014 through an EU Regulation covering pet movements. Pet passports remain valid for the lifetime of the pet or until all of the treatment spaces in the document have been used. As such APHA does not hold information on invalid passports.

Electronic Training Aids

lord mancroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of banning the use of electronic collars for cats and dogs in England.

lord mancroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people in England who use electronic collars for cats and dogs in containment systems.

lord gardiner of kimble: A public consultation on whether to ban the use of electronic training collars for dogs and cats closed on 27 April. We are now analysing the responses with a view to updating the impact assessment document which will be published in due course.

Home Office

Immigration: Caribbean

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to facilitate the provision of compensation for people who suffered due to the Windrush immigration issue.

baroness williams of trafford: The former Home Secretary announced to Parliament on 23 April 2018 that where people have suffered loss they will be compensated. The Home Office will set up a new scheme to deliver this, which will be run by an independent person.The Home Office has launched a Call for Evidence which is an opportunity for those who have been affected, and their families, to tell us what happened, how it has affected them and what they believe the compensation scheme needs to address.Further information on the findings of the Call for evidence will be published in the coming weeks and will be used to inform the design options and scope of a compensation scheme

Immigration: Caribbean

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the additional workload of dealing with urgent problems of the Windrush generation will have any impact on timescales for processing spouse extension and other types of visa applications; and if so, whether they have any plans to recruit more officials to deal with that additional workload.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office is committed to processing applications within the published service standards. We closely monitor performance and respond as necessary, including flexing resource.

Immigration: Commonwealth

lord livermore: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the net contribution to theUK economy of immigrants from the Commonwealth or its predecessor dominions and colonies, in each year since 1948.

baroness williams of trafford: No such estimate has been made.We value the contribution the Windrush generation have made to the United Kingdom. They were invited to come immediately after the second world war and in the decades that followed to help us to build modern Britain. No formal estimate has been made of the net contribution to the UK economy, but the Government is in no doubt about the debt of gratitude that this country owes to them.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Internet

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cloud services contracts that were previously delivered by British cloud services providers for theWales Office are now delivered by multinational cloud service providers; what is the value of those contracts; and what are the names of the previous providers.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Wales Office does not have any cloud service contracts with either British or multinational cloud service providers.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Databases

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the Scotland Office's data is hosted (1) in the UK, and (2) overseas.

lord duncan of springbank: The Scotland Office uses an information technology system (SCOTS) provided by the Scottish Government and therefore does not centrally collect the specific data requested.

Scotland Office: Internet

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cloud services contracts that were previously delivered by British cloud services providers for theScotland Office are now delivered by multinational cloud service providers; what is the value of those contracts; and what are the names of the previous providers.

lord duncan of springbank: Other than for minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not normally undertake direct procurement or tendering of contracts. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and other Government departments.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Internet

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cloud services contracts that were previously delivered by British cloud services providers for the Cabinet Office are now delivered by multinational cloud service providers; what isthe value of those contracts; and what are the names of the previous providers.

lord young of cookham: This information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Cost of Living

lord maginnis of drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 30 April (HL6934), when the Office for National Statistics expects to be able to produce regional price indices, including for Northern Ireland.

lord young of cookham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. Letter from John Pullinger CB, National Statistician, to Lord Maginnis of Drumglas , dated 3 May 2018. Dear Lord Maginnis, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking, further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 30 April (HL6934), when the Office for National Statistics expects to be able to produce regional price indices, including for Northern Ireland (HL7465). The Office for National Statisitcs (ONS) commissioned the University of Southampton to produce a feasibility study into producing price indices for all the Government Office Regions, including Northern Ireland, using current price and expenditure data. The results of this research were published in November 2017[1]. Following this publication, we have further commissioned University of Southampton to continue the study. While still underway, initial findings of the study suggest that we will be unable to produce reliable regional price indices without a significant increase in the price sample for this area, which would be costly. We expect the study to be completed by December 2018. We are actively pursuing access to retailers' transactional databases as part of our work exploring alternative data sources for consumer price statistics under the Digital Economy Act’s framework to access data for statistical purposes. At such a time as we receive access to these data we will have a sufficiently detailed data source to explore more reliable regional consumer price statistics; however, our timescales are dependent on when retailers might provide us with such data. Yours sincerely, John Pullinger [1] Feasibility study into producing CPIH consistent inflation rates for UK regions

Cervical Cancer

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the incidence rates of cervical cancer among (1) 18–49 year old women, and (2) women over the age of 50, in England for each year since 2011.

lord young of cookham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. Letter from John Pullinger CB, National Statistician, to The Countess of Mar, dated 3 May 2018. Dear Lady Mar, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking what were the incidence rates of cervical cancer among (1) 18-49 year old women, and (2) women over the age of 50, in England for each year since 2011 (HL7466). The Office for National Statistics (ONS), in collaboration with Public Health England, publishes the number of cancer cases registered (incidence) in England in each calendar year, as part of its Cancer Statistics Registrations, England (Series MB1) release. The latest available cancer incidence data published by ONS are provisional figures for 2016[1]. The provisional 2016 release does not contain a refreshed back series of cancer incidence, which would consider the continual accrual of late registrations. Therefore, the historic figures (from 2011 to 2015) below are based on the 2015 National Statistics release[2]. Cervical cancer is defined using International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10) code C53 (malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri). Table 1 overleaf provides the number and rate of women diagnosed cases of cervical cancer, (ICD-10: C53) by age group, in England from 2011 to 2016. While ONS does not hold cancer incidence data for Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, similar figures are published by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry[3], the Scottish Cancer Registry[4] and the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit[5], respectively.  Yours sincerely, John Pullinger Age group Year of Registration 201120122013201420152016p18-49Count1,5761,5551,6421,6551,6091,59050+Count9799891,0379509061,00318-49Rate13.413.314.014.213.813.650+Rate10.110.010.49.38.79.5Notes:   1. Cervical cancer is defined according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) as C53.p Provisional figures.  Source: Office for National Statistics Table 1: Incidence counts and rates per 100,000 women of cervical cancer by age group, England, 2011 to 20161 [1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/cancerregistrationstatisticsengland/2016[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/cancerregistrationstatisticsengland/2015[3] http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/[4] http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/[5] http://www.wcisu.wales.nhs.uk/home

Migrant Workers: EU Nationals

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of EU nationals working in the travel and hospitality sectors of the UK economy.

lord young of cookham: ​The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. Letter from John Pullinger CB, National Statistician, to The Rt Hon. the Lord Pendry, dated 10 May 2018. Dear Lord Pendry, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of EU nationals working in the travel and hospitality sectors of the UK economy (HL7570). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles labour market statistics for people in employment by industry and by nationality from the Annual Population Survey (APS), a household survey of people in the UK. People are classified to industry groups and nationality based on responses given during survey interview. ONS classifies people to industry groups in line with the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC2007). We have defined the travel and hospitality sectors to include industries covering accommodation for visitors, food and beverage servicing activities, passenger transport, vehicle hire and travel agencies. For the period January 2017 to December 2017, the latest period available, the total number of EU nationals, including UK nationals, working in the travel and hospitality sectors was 2,141,000. Of these, 1,853,000 were UK nationals, with the remaining 288,000 nationals of other EU countries. As with any sample survey, APS estimates are subject to a certain level of uncertainty.   Yours sincerely, John Pullinger

British Constitution

lord norton of louth: To ask Her Majesty's Government which Cabinet committee has responsibility for addressing constitutional issues.

lord young of cookham: Constitutional issues are regularly considered by Cabinet and a number of Cabinet sub-Committees. The Social Reform (Home Affairs) sub-Committee and the EU Exit and Trade (Domestic Preparedness, Devolution and Legislation) sub-Committee are the principal Committees at which constitutional issues are considered. A full list of all the Cabinet Committees is attached.  



Cabinet Committees and Implementation
(PDF Document, 196.03 KB)

Treasury

Bank of England: Public Appointments

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to seek candidates internationally for a replacement governor of the Bank of England rather than restricting the post to British candidates; and if so, why.

lord bates: The current Governor of the Bank of England has announced he will serve to 30 June 2019. The process of appointing the next Governor will begin in due course and in a way that ensures a smooth transition and gives certainty to markets. When the time comes, the best person for the job will be appointed, whoever she or he may be.

Plastics: Taxation

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to respondto calls from the Association of Accounting Technicians to reduce the use of single-use plastics by (1) encouraging the development of alternatives, and (2) penalising the use of single-use plastic through (a) taxation, (b) charges, and (c) incentivising behaviour change.

lord bates: At Spring Statement, the Chancellor launched a call for evidence, aimed at tackling the plastic problem. This call for evidence will explore how the tax system or charges can be used to reduce single-plastic waste and make the production and consumption of single-use plastics more sustainable.   The Chancellor further supported this goal by committing £20m to businesses and universities, acting now to stimulate new thinking and develop alternative solutions in this area.The call for evidence closes on 18 May. The government will outline how it plans to proceed once we have analysed the responses

Social Security Benefits: Children

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bates on 29 March (HL6647), whether they will now publish the outcome of the Family Test Assessment on the policy to limit Tax Credits and Universal Credit support to two children.

lord bates: The government does not routinely publish the Family Test assessment of policies. An impact assessment of the policy of providing support for a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit was published and is available here and attached: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/ia15-006e.pdf The impact assessment considered the impact of the policy on families and other protected groups.



impact assessment 
(PDF Document, 248.3 KB)

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Public Lending Right: Electronic Publishing

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to lay statutory instruments before Parliament to extend the Public Lending Right to e-book loans.

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that the Public Lending Right will be extended to e-book loans in time for the planned implementation date of 1 July.

lord ashton of hyde: Section 31 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 (DEA 2017), when commenced, will extend the Public Lending Right (PLR) to include the remote lending of e-books and audiobooks, where such lending takes place away from library premises. The Department is currently consulting with interested parties about amending relevant secondary legislation to ensure that it reflects section 31 of the DEA 2017. We intend to lay the necessary statutory instruments to amend relevant secondary legislation as soon as is practicable, following consideration of the responses to consultation.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Internet

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cloud services contracts that were previously delivered by British cloud services providers for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are now delivered by multinational cloud service providers; what is the value of those contracts; and what are the names of the previous providers.

lord ashton of hyde: DCMS have had no such contracts.